24 volt output, 12 volt charger

[bigpaddy_irl]

I bought a 12 volt wind generator with regulator. It will charge a 12 volt tractor battery no problem, but I need a 24 volt output.

I was going to wire the batteries up in series to produce 24v, but how to charge them with the 12volt regulator?

Would it be possible for me to have the batteries wired up in series providing 24v output to the required device while I bring 2 feeds from the 12 volt wind regulator isolated by diodes to each of the batteries? Would this work or is their a piece of kit you can buy for this situation?

 

[kchriste]

How much current do you need? The best solution would have been to get a 24V genny and 2 12V batteries..... A 12-24Vdc converter to power the load would be the solution to your problem. Something like this may work depending on the load:
**broken link removed**

 

[Sceadwian]

Check with the maker of the generator there may be a conversion kit for it, it could be as simple as changing how the generator motor is wired.

 

[bigpaddy_irl]

I dont want to go to the hassle of changing the genny. The load would be very low only 3-4 circuit boards. Its for wireless broadband. How much current would those 12v-24v transformers consume? I was thinking of getting one. I currently have a 12v-230v transformer, but its hard on the battery.
I have also checked with the manufacturer, there is no way of jumpering the generator to produce 24v.

 

[ericgibbs]

I bought a 12 volt wind generator with regulator. It will charge a 12 volt tractor battery no problem, but I need a 24 volt output.

I was going to wire the batteries up in series to produce 24v, but how to charge them with the 12volt regulator?

Would it be possible for me to have the batteries wired up in series providing 24v output to the required device while I bring 2 feeds from the 12 volt wind regulator isolated by diodes to each of the batteries? Would this work or is their a piece of kit you can buy for this situation?

hi,
In some marine applications they use two banks of 24V to give 48v.
They have a 24v alternator charger and use a double pole 20Amp switch to over to alternate battery banks, every other day
Do the same thing with your 24v [2 * 12v] battery bank, a high current double pole switch. You MUST switch both leads from the gen.

Do you follow that?

Your diode idea will not work as you expect.

 

[stevez]

Look at Jameco - on line catalog page 274 - there's a couple of 24 dvc converters - 9 to 18 vdc in, 24 vdc out, one is 300 ma, the other is 1100 ma, no info on ripple, etc - but prices aren't too bad. I know nothing about these - just happened to notice while looking for something else.

 

[kchriste]

The load would be very low only 3-4 circuit boards. Its for wireless broadband. How much current would those 12v-24v transformers consume?

It depends on how much current those "3-4 circuit boards" draw at 24V. At 85% efficiency, if the "3-4 circuit boards" draw 2 Amps @ 24V then the converter will draw apx 4.7Amps at 12V input. ( 2*24V/0.85 = 56.47W so; 56.47W/12V = 4.7A) I don't see a spec for idle current, but I would suspect it to be under 0.1A

 

[ecerfoglio]

I bought a 12 volt wind generator with regulator. It will charge a 12 volt tractor battery no problem, but I need a 24 volt output.

I was going to wire the batteries up in series to produce 24v, but how to charge them with the 12volt regulator?

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The load would be very low only 3-4 circuit boards.

If the load doesn't draw too much current, and since you have a good 12 V battery charger, it would be best to use a 12 V battery.

Then use a 12 V to 24 V dc-dc converter to power your load from the 12 V battery.

Use a converter just big enough to provide the current that your load uses (plus a safety margin), if you use one that is "too big" for your load it will daw more from the battery and reduce the "no wind" avaiable time.

If fou need to store more energy to allow for longer "no wind" times it would be better to use two 12 V batteries in paralell or, better yet, a bigger 12 V battery.